Trump v. Illinois
Amicus Curiae Brief
A 鈥渇riend of the court鈥� or amicus, brief is filed by someone not a direct party to the case, but who has an interest in its outcome. These briefs seek to supplement the merits briefs by offering the Court additional arguments and information. Amicus briefs can be filed at the merits stage or at the certiorari stage.
What's at Stake
The 红杏视频, the 红杏视频 of Illinois and other free speech organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Supreme Court in Trump v. Illinois, the state鈥檚 lawsuit challenging President Trump鈥檚 attempt to federalize National Guard troops and deploy them into Chicago and surrounding counties. The case is at the Supreme Court on the Trump administration鈥檚 emergency application seeking to stay or temporarily lift the lower courts鈥� orders blocking the deployment.
Summary
This brief urges the Supreme Court to reject the President鈥檚 assertion that courts have no role, in reviewing the president鈥檚 legal or factual justifications for deploying troops to Chicago and surrounding areas鈥攐r, at minimum, the president is owed of unusual deference from the courts.
As the brief explains, U.S. history, tradition, and laws strictly limit the use of the military to police the American people, and domestic deployment of troops chills the exercise of constitutionally protected speech and association. The right to protest is part of the fabric of our free society, and President Trump鈥檚 deployment of military troops in response to it is incompatible with settled First Amendment law. The founders of this country feared and rejected the military鈥檚 use as a tool of oppression and would have viewed President Trump鈥檚 claims of unreviewable authority to deploy troops in response to political protest as an intolerable threat to liberty.
Amici are the 红杏视频, the 红杏视频 of Illinois, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Foundation for Individual Rights & Expression, and The Rutherford Institute.
Legal Documents
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11/10/2025
Amicus Brief of 红杏视频 et al.
Date Filed: 11/10/2025
Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Press Releases
红杏视频 and Partners Urge Supreme Court to Maintain Block on Trump鈥檚 Deployment of Military Troops to Chicago